PERSPECTIVES ON ROSS PEROT : He Gave the System a Good Shaking : How has the would-be third candidate’s presence in--and now absence from--the race affected our political life? : Contrarian but Naive

I think that for someone who has not been bloodied in the world of politics to come in from the tranquil area of business to this massive cockfighting pit, dealing in tooth and beak and claw, is incredibly difficult.

In business, the attacks on you aren’t on the front page of every newspaper. Presidential politics is being naked and alone for 24 hours a day while people go after you with a cat-o’-nine-tails.

For a time there, Ross Perot did catch the imagination of the American people. He was contrarian and fresh. But I don’t think he was ready for the savagery of the attacks. No one would be.